How do you say "liver" in Japanese?

肝臓

kanzou

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "liver" is 肝臓 (kanzou).

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Pronunciation

Kahn-ZOH, two syllables, the second held slightly longer with a firm 'zo'.

Writing and usage

肝臓 is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

肝臓は血液を浄化するのを助けます。

kanzou ha ketsueki wo jouka surunowo tasuke masu.

The liver helps clean the blood.

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How to remember 肝臓

Kanzou has a heavy, dense sound to it, matching how solid and dense the liver feels as an organ.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 肝臓

How do you pronounce 肝臓?

Kahn-ZOH, two syllables, the second held slightly longer with a firm 'zo'.

Is 肝臓 formal or casual?

肝臓 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 肝臓 written in Japanese?

肝臓 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as kanzou.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Liver" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

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